My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 39: Firearms Expert: Bi Maokang! (More updates, please support!!!)

Although the evaluation of Zhu Houzhao in later generations is polarized, in Zhu Cilang's view, Zhu Houzhao was definitely a wise emperor.

Because he knew that the highest power must be firmly in the hands of the emperor!

It's a pity that he was killed in the end.

The people who killed Zhu Houzhao were most likely the civil service group.

After all, an emperor who holds the supreme command of the army is too terrifying, and the civil servants cannot accept such an emperor.

They are afraid of such an emperor!

If you think about it carefully, it has been one hundred and twenty years since Zhu Houzhao.

In other words, the Ming Emperor had lost the supreme command of the army for one hundred and twenty years.
It’s scary to think about it!
Even now, the only army that Zhu Cilang can truly control is actually his three thousand personal soldiers.

As for the more than 30,000 troops of the Beijing Camp and the Former Five Military Commandery, they were indirectly controlled by Wang Xiantong and Li Guozhen, two nobles who held military power.

Zhu Cilang did not doubt their loyalty. After all, they had already betrayed Chongzhen and the entire noble group. Apart from following him, the crown prince, they had no other way out.

In short, no matter what, he must control the military power of the Beijing Camp and the former Five Military Commanders' Office in his own hands.

If the Ministry of War wants to seize military power from him, he doesn't mind killing a few more people.

After regaining his composure, Zhu Cilang looked at Wang Xiantong and Li Guozhen.

"When they come back next time, we will openly let them investigate and do whatever they want."

"If you make any requests, you can agree to them on the surface, and then just tell me afterwards."

"Of course! The final order is still based on my order."

"Trust me, after a while, the military power of the Beijing Camp and the Five Military Command will completely return to me!"

When Wang Xiantong and Li Guozhen heard this, they were both shocked.

Because they knew that the prince was probably going to cause trouble again soon.

Although it is not an easy task to completely take back the military power of the Beijing Camp and the Five Military Commandery from the hands of the civil officials, for some reason, they just feel that the prince will succeed!

Then, the two of them bowed and said at the same time:

"I obey!"

Zhu Cilang waved his hand.

"Go back and have some rest."

"I resign!"

"I resign!"

After bowing again, Wang Xiantong left with Li Guozhen.

Of course, the ones who returned were the Beijing Camp and the Five Military Commandery.
After seeing off Li Guozhen and Wang Xiantong, Zhu Cilang read the memorials for a while, and then prepared to wash up and rest.

Calculating the time, it was around nine o'clock in the evening.

It’s no wonder that he goes to bed so early. It’s simply because there weren’t as many entertainment activities in ancient times as there are in later generations, so it’s impossible to stay up late even if you want to.

In addition, his body has not yet matured, and he cannot do many things that can make people "happy", so he can only go to bed early and get up early.

Ten minutes later, just as he was about to fall asleep, footsteps suddenly came from the door.

At the same time, Ma Bao's voice rang out.

"Prince, are you asleep?"

Zhu Cilang's eyes, which had just closed, opened again.

"You're not asleep yet, come in!"

creak.

With a slight sound, Ma Bao pushed open the door and walked in.

"what's up?"

Zhu Cilang asked curiously.

He knew that if there was nothing serious, Ma Bao would not dare to disturb him at this time.

Ma Bao replied in a low voice:
"Prince, didn't you ask the Royal Guards to find a lot of people? You also said that they would notify you as soon as they arrived." "No matter what you are doing,..."

Before Ma Bao finished speaking, Zhu Cilang suddenly sat up from the bed and asked:

"Tell me, who's here?"

Ma Bao was stunned at first, but quickly replied:

"Bi Maokang!"

Bi Maokang!
When Zhu Cilang heard this name, he felt happy.

He didn't expect that the first person to come would be Bi Maokang!

Bi Maokang, the most talented firearms expert in the late Ming Dynasty, was also the first person in the world to develop the flintlock rifle!
When he resigned from office, he compiled a book called "Illustrated Explanation of Military Equipment" and presented it to Chongzhen, hoping that it would attract Chongzhen's attention and improve the firearms of the Ming Dynasty.

Bi Maokang first introduced the flintlock rifle, a weapon ahead of its time, in his book Illustrated Explanation of Military Equipment.

Simply put, it is to improve the ignition device of the general musket using a fuse to use a flint as the ignition device.

This will overcome the weakness of matchlock ignition being afraid of wind and rain, and no matter how bad the weather is, it will not affect the use of the weapon.

When the soldier pulled the trigger, the cock and flint placed on the trigger rubbed against each other to produce fire, and sparks fell into the powder chamber to burn the gunpowder, which then generated gas thrust.

This thrust will directly shoot the projectile out to attack!
Moreover, this weapon simplifies the firing procedure and increases the weapon's firing rate.

His invention is worthy of being recorded in history!

But unfortunately, this book did not receive the attention of Chongzhen.

Zhu Cilang had read this book before, but some of the techniques in it were beyond his understanding even for himself.

We took it to the Armory Bureau, but the workers there were completely bewildered, as they couldn't make it at all.

Because some key technical points and parts are too vague.

Zhu Cilang knew in his heart that if he wanted to make a flintlock rifle, he could only find Bi Maokang himself.

As a time traveler, he was well aware of the importance of advanced weapons to the army and the country, so after his successful rebellion, the first thing he wanted to do was find Bi Maokang.

Unexpectedly, he was the first one to arrive!
But then again, isn’t Bi Maokang’s hometown in Anhui?

How did it come so fast?
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang asked again:
"Where did Bi Maokang come from? How did he get here so quickly?"

Ma Baodao:
"According to the Jinyiwei who announced the decree, they came from Tianjin. Bi Maokang has been living in Tianjin since he resigned from office, so he arrived relatively quickly."

Zhu Cilang suddenly understood.

Who says you have to live where your hometown is?

Beijing is only about a hundred kilometers away from Tianjin, so three days should be enough.

"Quick! Take me to see him quickly!"

Zhu Cilang said this and went out without even having time to put on his clothes, dragging his shoes.

When Ma Bao saw Zhu Cilang like this, he picked up his robe and chased after him.

"Prince! You haven't even put on your clothes yet!"

In the warm room of the East Palace, an old man with white hair and beard was sitting on a chair, waiting nervously.

He is Bi Maokang!

To be honest, when the Jinyiwei found Bi Maokang with the imperial edict, Bi Maokang was a little confused.

Because he had resigned from office seven or eight years ago, he really couldn't imagine what the emperor wanted him to do.

It was not until the Embroidered Uniform Guard read out the contents of the imperial edict that he realized it was because of the book "Illustrated Explanation of Military Equipment" that he had previously compiled.

In an instant, he understood the purpose of this trip!
The emperor wants to improve firearms!

After realizing this, he immediately followed the Jinyiwei into Beijing.

I originally thought I was going to meet the emperor, but unexpectedly I met the prince.

Bi Maokang had many doubts in his mind, but since things had come to this point, he could only suppress them.

Soon, the door was pushed open and a young man in a dragon robe appeared in his sight.

(PS: After researching a lot of information, I found that the crown prince and princes of the Ming Dynasty could actually wear dragon robes, but the format was slightly different from that of the emperor, so it was not considered an act of usurpation.)
(End of this chapter)